


When It Rains, It Pours

by evelinaonline



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Ben Hargreeves is Alive, Family Bonding, Gen, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, Good Sister Vanya Hargreeves, Post-Apocalypse, The Even Numbers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22455343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelinaonline/pseuds/evelinaonline
Summary: For the first time since he's come back to life, Ben feels the rain against his skin.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 22
Kudos: 165





	When It Rains, It Pours

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie... This is one of my favorite fanfics I've written. I hope you enjoy!!

Without a doubt, Ben's new favorite activity is lying in bed. Then again, after coming back to life, his favorite activity changes depending on the time of the day. But right now? Ben is enjoying the comfort of his blankets, as he mindlessly daydreams.

He thinks of having dinner at a tavern by the ocean at sundown. All of his family is there, and they're laughing as they share stories with each other. Ben's hair is damp from swimming, but not quite wet, as they've been out of the water for a while.

" _Ben!"_

He ends up by the sea again, looking at the calm waves clash against the sand. The wind smells of salt as it tickles his face and plays with his hair, pushing Ben's lips into a smile. At some point Klaus joins him, and they sit there in silence until the sun completely sets, and the pink colors of the sky start to fade—

" _BEN!"_

Ben opens his eyes and he's back in his room again. He's not exactly sure for how long he was sleeping, but he can still hear the waves, and he kinda wants to drift back into his dreams. He groans and tries to ignore the fact that someone's been calling out his name.

He closes his eyes again, trying to think back to how the sand felt when he dug his fingers into it, but the sound of someone running up the stairs reaches him before sleep does, and Ben mentally prepares himself to scold Klaus for trying to drag him into another one of his messes—

The door opens without warning, and Ben's eyes fall on Vanya, who seems to be either really annoyed or very excited.

"Yeah?" Ben says and yawns right after. Sure, Vanya is not Klaus, but Ben is this close to kicking her out of his room anyway. Maybe if he buries his head under his pillow now, he can still fall asleep.

"It's time for you to get out of bed."

Ben groans and pulls his covers a bit higher up, to cover his nose. A smile is starting to appear on Vanya's face, and for a second, Ben thinks she's about to make fun of him for acting like an actual three-year-old, but instead—

"It's raining," she says.

It's only then that Ben realises the sound of waves that's playing in the back of his head isn't his imagination, but the rain pouring down on the roof.

Ben yelps.

He is up in less than a second later, not bothering to change into something other than his pyjamas as he runs past Vanya and down the stairs. He clumsily slips on his sneakers at the entrance hall and almost trips on the shoelaces he wasn't bothered to tie when he reaches for the door's handle.

And then he's outside.

Rain is so different when he can actually feel it.

He doesn't know how to describe the feeling of raindrops falling against his skin. It's cold, but strangely comforting. Welcoming. It causes goose bumps to spread all over his body, and soon enough his hair is soaked wet just like in his dream, and the water keeps dripping down his face.

The smell of wet soil hits him soon enough, and hard. It's exactly how it's described in his books; fresh. Natural. It makes Ben want to kneel down and run his fingers through the grass.

And the sound, fuck. The sound. Ben can't get enough of the sound. His hearing stayed when he died—as did his sense of smell—but it was as if someone put a filter on it. Like he couldn't experience sound the same way.

Now that filter's been removed, and Ben can hear and _feel_ sounds. The dripping is tickling his ears, and Ben wants more, he wants the whole sky to fall on him and take him away, because he's never been this happy in his life.

Ben loops up and squints his eyes, letting the rain do just that.

He laughs.

He can't remember the last time he's felt so free in his life. There are no strings keeping him to the side anymore, and it's like he could just take a step forward and fly off. He's free, he's _alive._

"Ben!"

He turns around to see Vanya in her coat with an umbrella in hand, as opposed to Ben, who is standing in the middle of the courtyard in nothing but a blouse, now soaked with water.

"You are so gonna catch a cold—"

She's about to walk up to him and give him her coat, but she's cut off by none other than Klaus, who runs out of the house almost as fast as Ben did. He's wearing his coat to protect himself from the rain, but his signature pink umbrella is nowhere to be seen.

He stops next to Ben and they grin at each other. Ben may be crying, but with all the rain, he's not sure himself. If there are any tears, they've mixed with the rain.

"Will you do the honors?" Klaus asks and points at the biggest puddle in the yard.

Ben has to bite his lip in order to prevent his grin from growing even stronger. A puddle. It's just a puddle, but in that moment, it's all that matters. Ben nods at Klaus, and his brother starts a countdown.

" _Three…"_

Ben steps in front of the puddle. He catches a glimpse of himself smiling inside his reflection.

" _... two…"_

He looks back at Vanya with pleading eyes, but she only shakes her head. She's given up on trying to put some sense into him, but Ben knows she's secretly enjoying this.

" _... one!"_

Water splashes everywhere. His shoes, socks and pants are covered in mud, but Ben doesn't care, and he starts jumping up and down like a kid, again and again, until Klaus is in the puddle with him too, and somehow they end up falling on the ground, splashing with their hands—

"Okay, that's enough, you two," a voice that doesn't belong to Vanya says.

Ben and Klaus keep laughing as Diego drags them under the porch and makes them take off their shoes. Vanya is thanking him, Ben thinks, but it's not as if he can focus on his surroundings right now. Just the rain. Only the rain.

They make a huge mess inside, and Luther has to carry them to the bathroom himself in order for them not to get mud all over the house. Even after Ben has showered and is covered in blankets next to the fireplace with Klaus, taking small sips from his hot chocolate, he's still thinking about the raindrops against his skin.

Klaus gives him a little nudge and smiles at him, and Ben leans his head against his shoulder.

The rain keeps falling.

**Author's Note:**

> It's 23:47, I've been seventeen for the past twenty-four hours, and I'm listening to Dancing Queen by ABBA on repeat. As you can probably, tell, I'm super emotional right now.
> 
> It's unbelievable to me how you guys read and enjoy my work every day. I write because I love it, and it makes me feel good, but knowing someone out there appreciates it, like?? It's unbelivably hard to grasp, sometimes. And as I grow older, I want to show my appreciation for you even more.
> 
> So yes, I have no idea where I'm going with this. All I know is that this has been one of the wildest years of my life. Thank you for being a part of it <3
> 
> As always, if you have any requests, [hit me up on tumblr (evelinaonline)](https://evelinaonline.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> P.S.  
> I have a Ko-fi now!! I'm not expecting anyone to donate, and my work will always be uploaded here for free, but I'm trying to raise money for college, so!! Thought I'd give this a go. You can find a link to it on my tumblr <3
> 
> Now excuse me, I need to get back to ABBA. I'm still in denial ;w;
> 
> (I love you all <3)


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